Check Out This Handy Free App To Help When Installing A New Version Of Pro Tools - Mac

Community member Marco Bernardo got in touch with us following the discussion in Podcast 321 about Pro Tools installers overwriting the previous version when upgrading to a newer version and that gave him an idea to create a tool that he hopes will help the Pro Tools Expert Community.

We all know that we can rename the Pro Tools.app before installing a newer version so we have a backup if the new version has problems, but we don't always remember to do it every time.

Marco has written a Mac-only free app using Python and Applescript and this is what it does...

Ask you what you want to do. It defaults to "Install Pro Tools"

Ask you where the Pro Tools DMG file is located

Ask you where you keep or backup your Pro Tools DMG installer files so we can keep a backup of all the installers as Avid usually only leaves the most recent version in your Avid Master Account.

Ask you for the admin password - note it doesn't store the password in an insecure text file, it uses the same core path used by the operating system.

All this point it takes over and does the following, you don't need to do anything just wait. Marco says that it needs fewer clicks than the normal Pro Tools installer.

It will rename the existing Pro Tools.app in your Applications folder to reflect the version number. For example - Pro Tools 2018.4.0.app but only if it finds a copy of the Pro Tools.app in your Applications folder.

Move the Pro Tools installer .dmg file from the source folder to the backup folder you selected.

Mount the Pro Tools installer .dmg file in the background

Start the installation

When the installation is completed it will unmount the Pro Tools installer .dmg file Note that everything happens in the background, you won't see the installer run like you would if you ran the installer yourself.

You can keep an eye on progress by checking the display notifications.

Note that if by mistake you choose a folder that doesn't have a Pro Tools installer .dmg file in it, the app doesn't display a warning but in this scenario, you will see that the display notifications will stop appearing. If this happens, Marco recommends that you can then start again from the beginning.

This app has been tested by Marco and Mike on macOS Sierra 10.12.6

Please remember that this application was created by an audio engineer and not a software coder. Neither Production Expert Ltd or Marco Bernardo can be held liable for anything that goes wrong with your system and consequential loss. Use this app at your own risk.

Also, neither Production Expert Ltd or Marco Bernardo can offer support for this free application. Note that Marco has left the code open so if anyone would like to improve the code they can do.

Installation

Included in the zip file that you will get when you click on the button above is another zip file, which is the application. Drag this to your Applications folder to complete the installation. Note this is a Mac OS only application there isn’t a Windows version. The other file included is a set of instructions.

How To Use The App

The first thing to do is to run Marco's PTInstall_Ver app and choose what we want it to do. It defaults to 'Install Pro Tools', so we can just click the OK button and then the app will ask where the new Pro Tools installer .dmg file is.

Navigate to where your new installer is, usually the Downloads folder. Once there, click on the Choose button.

Next, the app will ask to identify the folder where we want to store the new Pro Tools installer .dmg file, so we have it on our system as a backup as Avid usually only leaves the most recent version in your Avid Master Account.

Because the app is going to make changes to your system you will need to enter your username and password, just as you would with any installer.

At this point the app takes over and does the following, you don't need to do anything just wait and watch.

The first thing it will do is it will check if there's a "Pro Tools.app" inside your Applications folder. If there is one, it will check what version is and then rename the existing "Pro Tools.app" appending the full version number after the words Pro Tools so you can easily see which version it is, so there isn’t a file named Pro Tools for the new installer to replace.

Next, the app moves the new Pro Tools installer .dmg file to the folder you've chosen to store and backup into.

After that, it will mount new Pro Tools installer .dmg file in the background. Note you won’t see a mounted volume on your Desktop and then it will start the normal Pro Tools installation process, again in the background.

Whilst the installer is working in the background, if you look in the Notifications window by clicking on the list icon on the top right-hand corner of the Finder’s menu bar we can see the progress the app is making including the stages already completed and the notification that the Pro Tools Installer is installing Pro Tools.

But as it is all happening in the background there isn’t much to see except for a few telltale signs including the Space-Available number dropping at the bottom of the Finder window.

Then it’s a matter of waiting again as the next thing that will happen is we can see is that the new Pro Tools.app will appear in the Applications folder.

Next, as the app finishes it renames the new version and appends the version number to the end of Pro Tools, before unmounting the Pro Tools installer .dmg file and announcing that the Pro Tools Installation is complete as we can also see in the Notifications window if you missed it pop up in real time.

And that's it. Job done. Thanks to Marco Bernardo for taking the time to create this excellent tool and making it available for free to the Pro Tools Expert community.

More Free Stuff

Whilst we are talking free we wanted to share more free stuff that we have on the site. Check these out...

Snapshot V2

Pro Tools Expert Founder Russ Hughes, in collaboration with Non-Lethal Applications, has developed a new free plug-in called Snapshot. Snapshot is a simple idea, take a picture of anything you are using in your recording session and store it in the tracks of your DAW. Snapshot is available for free exclusively for the Production Expert Community.

Got a sound on your vintage 1176 compressor you've set for the vocal? Snapshot it. Got a guitar amp setting you just love? Snapshot it. Want to recall the mic set-up on your cabs or drum kit? Snapshot it.

Snap it on your phone, send it to your computer and save it in your session using the free Snapshot plug-in. You can also add notes to each instance of Snapshot. It's like a chinagraph for the 21st century.